George Paterson
Head of Paris
George Paterson is a finance lawyer, and the Head of the Paris practice where he leads the Paris aviation team.
George specialises in aviation finance and leasing transactions representing banks, export credit agencies and airlines. He has extensive experience in export credit finance coupled with tax based structures and wide experience in cross-border leasing. He has considerable experience with such products as Japanese Operating Leases and French Leveraged Leases.
George is noted in Chambers Europe 2009 for his "extremely good knowledge of the aviation business" and is described as "one of the best in this area without a doubt". He has been named by the IFLR 2002 (Guide to the World's Leading Aviation Lawyers) as a pre-eminent practitioner in aviation in France.
He first qualified as a solicitor in Scotland in 1990. He then worked in Edinburgh and London in the banking department of a major commercial Scottish legal practice where he specialised in acquisition and structured finance. George joined the Paris practice in 1993 and became a partner in 1998. He qualified as a solicitor in England in 1992 and as an Avocat à la Cour d'Appel de Paris in 1996. He is fluent in French.